Boots and Moccasins: An Unlikely Alliance Against the Keystone Pipeline

Photo by Mary Anne Andrei / Bold Nebraska

Thousands of people joined the farmers, ranchers, and tribal leaders of the Cowboy and Indian Alliance for a ceremonial procession along Washington, DC's National Mall to protest the Keystone XL pipeline. The procession was the largest event yet of the five-day Reject and Protect encampment.

"Today, boots and moccasins showed President Obama an unlikely alliance has his back to reject Keystone XL to protect our land and water," said Jane Kleeb, Executive Director of Bold Nebraska, one of the key organizers of Reject and Protect.

Musician Neil Young and actress Daryl Hannah were amongst the crowd of thousands who rallied on the National Mall and then marched past the Capitol building. "We need to end the age of fossil fuels and move on to something better," Mr. Young told the crowd. The day’s procession included the presentation of a hand-painted tipi to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian as a gift to President Obama. The tipi represented the Cowboy and Indian Alliance’s hopes for protected land and clean water.

"Keystone XL is a death warrant for our people," said Oglala Sioux Tribal President Bryan Brewer, who helped lead the presentation of the tipi to the Smithsonian. "President Obama must reject this pipeline and protect our sacred land and water. The United States needs to respect our treaty rights and say no to Keystone XL."